How to Export iCloud Photos to an External Hard Drive

If your iCloud Photo Library contains thousands of photos and you want a local backup on an external hard drive, Photo Export makes it simple. This guide walks you through the process.

What you need

• A Mac running macOS 15.0 or later
• iCloud Photos enabled on your Mac — go to System Settings → Apple Account → iCloud → Photos and make sure it’s on. Photo Export reads your local Photos library through Apple’s PhotoKit framework (the same API the built-in Photos app uses), so your iCloud photos need to be syncing to this Mac.
• An external hard drive, USB drive, or any local folder
• The Photo Export app — on the Mac App Store, or free on GitHub

Step 1: Download and install Photo Export

Mac App Store — Install directly from the App Store for automatic updates. Your purchase supports ongoing development.

GitHub Releases (free):

1. Download the latest .dmg from the GitHub Releases page.
2. Open the DMG and drag Photo Export to your Applications folder.
3. Launch the app. It is signed and notarized by Apple, so it will open without Gatekeeper warnings.

Step 2: Grant Photos library access

When you first open Photo Export, macOS will ask you to grant access to your Photos library. Click Allow to continue. This lets the app read your iCloud and Apple Photos library.

Step 3: Choose your export destination

Click Choose Folder and select your external hard drive or any local folder. The app remembers your choice, so you only need to do this once.

Step 4: Browse and export

Use the year/month sidebar to browse your library. You can preview thumbnails and inspect individual photos before exporting. When you’re ready:

• Use the toolbar’s Include originals toggle to choose what to write. Off (default) exports one file per photo, in the version Photos shows — edited photos write the edit, unedited photos write the original. On adds a _orig companion (e.g. IMG_0001_orig.HEIC) for any photo with edits in Photos so you keep a copy of the original bytes.
• To export a single month, navigate to it and click Export Month.
• To export your entire library, click Export All in the toolbar.

The app copies the chosen file(s) into an organized Year/Month/ folder structure on your chosen drive. If any photos are stored only in iCloud, the app automatically downloads the originals during export. Unedited photos never produce a _orig companion — there is nothing to pair with.

Resuming an interrupted export

If the export is interrupted — you unplug the drive, close the app, or your Mac goes to sleep — you can resume and the app will skip most already-exported files. In rare cases (e.g. a crash mid-write), a file may be copied again, but no data is lost.

Why use Photo Export instead of manually dragging photos?

• Organized folders: Photos are automatically sorted into Year/Month/ folders instead of dumped into one giant directory.
• Tracks what’s exported: The app remembers what’s been exported. Run it again and it skips already-exported photos.
• Pause and resume: Long exports can be paused and picked up later.
• Open source: No subscription, no account, no ads. MIT licensed. Free on GitHub, or support the project on the Mac App Store.